Longing Stares & Lingering Hearts
by ziggy's pop
Summary: A small action based on curiosity, attraction, and fueled on pure impulse takes two very different people on a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, and love. AU Teenage coming of age story. Fem!PruAus. Various pairings. Cheesy summary, I know. Edited: 4/28/13 and title changed.
1. I Want the One I Can't Have pt1

_**Edit: 4/28/13- I split the first chapter into two parts since it was a pretty long read and frankly I don't like long chapters. Also I changed the title since in my opinion it was not relevant anymore to the story. **_

**I was watching this series called ****_Skins_**** (UK version) for what would be the thousand time, when I suddenly got this idea for a story: what if I - badly - wrote a Fem!Pruaus fic based on a certain favorite storyline of mine from the show? I'm basing the fic on the storyline of two characters named Naomi and Emily (which if I may add, were one of the best fictional couples to have graced us in the history of forever, but I digress.) If you are not familiar with the show****_ Skins, _****then here's a little summary of the storyline: Girl likes girl and vice versa. At first, the two are in denial, but later on, one of them accepts the fact that she likes the other, while the other one struggles to admit she feels the same way. If you are familiar with the show, I will ****_loosely _****base the story on it but I don't want to give too much away.**

**A heads up: some characters besides Prussia and Austria will be genderbent, for story purposes. With that being said, I choose Julchen as Prussia's fem name and Sophie as Austria's fem name, for some reason I like Sophie better than Annaliese and I've seen a couple of fics use Sophie, and I prefer it. For Mangary I used Daniel, Fem!Germany Monika, Fem!Japan Sakura, and Fem!France Marianne.I made Kugelmugel into Austria's little brother and named him, Christoph because I could not find any information on his human name, so I named him after the talented, Austrian, actor Christoph Waltz.**

**In advanced sorry for any typos, grammar, spelling, punctuation and verb tense errors. I'm not the best when it comes to any of that. (I bet this author's note and the one below will have errors too lol) All right, I will now get off my soapbox and let you read the story.**

**This story is rated T due to language, mentions of alcohol, drugs and implied sexual situations.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own nothing, because I'm not a genius, Asian, dude who created the awesome personifications of the world's nations or a genius, British, dude who created a series about troubled British youths.**

* * *

The shrilling, loud-enough-to-wake-the-dead sound of the soon-to-be-smashed alarm clock woke up an irate Julchen up. She was not ready to brace the new day with wide open arms for a wide range of reasons. She angrily grabbed the alarm clock on the nightstand and roughly tossed it to the other side of the room. The alarm ended crashing and breaking onto the other side of the room.

"Julchen, what was that?!" She heard a vociferous shout from downstairs.

She reluctantly got up from her bed and headed to open the bedroom door. "Nothing Vater! You're imagining things; I guess that happens with old age huh? And why do you always assume I did something?" She shouted downstairs to him from the frame of her door.

"I may be getting old, but not senile Fräulein! Now hurry up and get ready for school. I won't allow you to be late for your first day back." Julchen's father bellowed.

"Please don't remind me." Julchen sighted as she closed her bedroom door.

Julchen's many reasons, if not one of the biggest ones to fill her with anxiety, was today she was going back to school. Is not that she didn't like school - okay that was a blatant lie, she absolutely loathed it - but no, she didn't want to go back to school because she wanted to avoid a certain person, especially after Alfred's back to school party. 'Why did I even go to it in the first place?' She scolded herself. 'Oh that's right I like to party hardy.'

Alfred F. Jones' parties were legendary. Everyone in his grade level anticipated the annual, wicked bash on the weekend before school officially started. It was a tradition Alfred started back in eight grade and everyone gladly embraced it. So it really shouldn't have come to Julchen's surprise seeing **_her_** there. 'Why was she even at the party? It doesn't seem like her sort of thing, and secondly she barely comes to any of the parties that are thrown, so why did she have to show up to Alfred's on Friday?' She pondered.

'Why couldn't Miss High-and-mighty stayed at home?' She resentfully thought. 'I swear if I see her at all today I'm going to- actually I don't know what I'll do.' She admitted as she listlessly slumped down her door and onto the floor.

"Gott, Edelstein…what the hell did you do?"

* * *

Although her appearance stated otherwise, she was not prepared at all. She was not ready to go back and face the vexatious music. Her mind and her insides alike where a jumbled mess and to go and face the lion's den was not going to help her situation.

'What was I thinking? I should have just stayed home and none of my foolish, absurdity would have seeped through.' She deeply contemplated. 'I shouldn't have done that and with…**_her_** of all people. It was wrong.' She mentally scolded herself. "But how come it felt _so _right?" She said as she pensively touched her lips.

"Mutti says you have to drop me off and pick me up at school today." Her little brother said as he entered her bedroom. Having her little brother unexpectedly barge into her room immediately snapped her out of her reverie.

"Why can't Mutter drive you? She does realize I don't have a car; therefore, I can't drive you there." She stated as she got up from her vanity table.

"Oh liebe[dear], don't be silly, we live within walking distance of both your schools. It really shouldn't be a problem walking your little brother to his school and then head towards yours. Sophie's mother, Maria Theresa, sweetly replied as she came into the room.

"Mutter, I can't be possibly seen with a middle schooler, let alone be seen at a middle school. I also have to meet up with Daniel before school, please reconsider." She implored.

"And what, you think I want to be seen with you? Please don't flatter yourself. Besides I'm in middle school, I think I'm old enough to walk myself there." Her brother wryly responded.

"Shut it Christoph." She said as she dismissed him. "Well Mutter, may I at least finally get a car this year? If I have to drop off this Dummkopf, at least it can be a bit more presentable." She countered.

"Hey, I'm not Dummkopt, you Dummkopt."

"Is that really the best you can do?"

"Yeah well you're a bit–"

"Children, enough!" Their mother hastily interrupted. "Sophie treat your brother nicely and same goes to you Christoph. And Sophie, no car at the moment alright? Maybe further in the school year ok?" Their mother stated.

The two siblings nodded their head in acceptance. Sophie briefly smiling for a bit before thoughts of the challenging day ahead filled her mind.

"Alright well, I'm heading off to work and you two should eat and then do the same if you want to be on time for school." She said as she left Sophie's bedroom and headed downstairs. "Be sure to lock the door and be careful on your way to school and back." She called from downstairs.

"Ich liebe dich meine Lieblinge."[I love you, my darlings.] She said as she headed towards the front door.

"Ich liebe dich auch Mamma."[I love you too, mom] Both children sweetly answered back halfway down the stairs.

"Good luck at school!" She brightly smiled at them as she closed the door.

* * *

She deliberated between hiding under her bed, hiding herself in the closet, or locking herself in the bathroom and making an escape through the bathroom window. No, all of those were cowardly moves and she in no way was a coward. She was the embodiment of awesome and awesome did not coward under the bed. She was going to school and face whatever or _whomever _came her way.

Oh who was she kidding? The only reason she was even heading down the stairs towards the kitchen and off to school, was because of her father. The man was an intimidating force come to life. You wouldn't dare to try and mess with the man; he could break you with just one stony look.

"Glad you could join us for breakfast." Julchen's father stated as she took a seat and pulled the plate of wurst and eggs towards her on the counter.

"Really Vater? I love wurst as the next person, but for everyday for breakfast?" Julchen said.

"Beggars can't be choosers Julchen. If this does not please you, you know where the kitchen is." Her father, Wilhelm, countered.

"Okay, fair enough." Julchen uttered. "I _will _take that though." She said as she snatched her sister's piece of toast.

"Hey, that was mine!" Monika angrily exclaimed.

"And now, it is in _mein _mouth, you want to see?" She mockingly said.

"Gross. Do you always have to be so crude?

"Hey chill, I was just teasing. Next time though, you'll get a show and an encore. Kesesese~"

"I will not have any more of this nonsense. Julchen, apologize and make your sister another piece of toast." Their father commanded.

"Yes sir!" She playfully saluted him. "Sorry dear little sister of mein, it will _never _- it would - happen again." She said sardonically as she went to put a piece of toast in the toaster.

"Keep talking like that, and I'll tell Feliciano to leave without you." Monika challenged.

Her sister's comment made Julchen laugh. She would be more than please to lose said ride; Monika would be doing her a favor. Maybe she should keep pestering her until she cracked under pressure and left her behind, but then again, there was no way in hell her father would let her stay at home. He'd make her take her old tricycle - the pink one covered with stickers of rainbows and unicorns - if he had to.

She jokingly got on one knee and joined her two hands together. "Oh no, please Monika, sister dear, anything but that! I'd hate to miss your little boyfriend's wonderful motor skills!" She sarcastically remarked as she dramatically put the back of her hand on her forehead for added affect.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Monika shouted as a rosy hue appeared on her pale cheeks. "He drives like a lunatic, but I endure it because he is my best friend and ever since he got his license he has been at his happiest and also Vati can't drive us to school anymore since he has to take a different commute to work thanks to the construction. So appreciate Feliciano a lit bit more, you fool!" Monika heatedly sighted.

"Woah take it easy, I won't pick on your little boyfriend anymore." Julchen teased.

"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Monika said as she angrily stomped out of the room.

Their father waited until Monika left the room to turn his attention to Julchen and worriedly ask, "Does the Italian boy really drive as bad as you guys say?"

"That and more Vati! His driving made poor, little Sakura curse and threaten to rip his guts out and serve them for dinner. I imagine they'd probably taste like pasta since that's all the boy ever wants to eat, but I digress. It was a pretty awesome scene if I might add; you should have seen it." Julchen merrily replied.

Her father who hardly showed any emotion at all was a bit taken back. He didn't know if it was for the fact that the quiet, polite, petite Asian girl that came over all the time could curse and violently threaten someone, or the fact that his oldest daughter held a grin of joy as she recounted the tale. He thought that the young people had definitely lost it. Maybe the cause of it was that dang internet the youth seem to love so much or those doohickeys that held over a billion songs and app things, either way he blamed teenager's short span and technology or maybe there was something in the school's water…

"Woah Vati, emotions don't really suit you, keep your poker-face on." Julchen stated, "But don't worry, Sakura now gets a ride from her boyfriend, Alfred. So no need to worry. She's now in safe hands…well, _safer,_ hands because that Alfred has major road rage. Last time Marianne, Antonio, and I asked for a ride to the movies, the guy flipped everyone and their grandmothers off. Plus, his car smells like the inside of a McDonald's; we had to take the bus the next time we went to the movies. Oh and don't let me get started on his music taste–"

Yes, it was definitely the school's water.

"WHAT ABOUT YOU, ARE YOU AND YOUR SISTER SAFE?! YOU ARE NOT GETTING ON THAT ITALIAN'S CAR WITHOUT ME FIRST TALKING TO THE KID ABOUT THE SAFETY RULES OF THE ROAD AND ITS REGULATIONS…" Her father frantically continued his rant in the background.

"Nice going you Scheiße, now we are definitely going to be late for school and I think the toast is burning." Monika yelled from the living room.

"Oh Scheiße!"

* * *

'I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.' She mentally chanted. All she needed was to keep repeating this mantra and she'd make it out alive.

"…And you see that plastic bag up there, lodge up on the tree branch? That's art!"

Yeah, she couldn't do this.

'This is pure torture. Please make this kid shut up! Does he have an on and off switch or something?' She thought. '_It_ started babbling away as soon as I closed the door, haven't I had enough?

Halfway towards Christoph's school, was when Sophie finally lost it.

"It really is beautiful. It makes you think about the–"

"SHUT IT YOU FOOL!" Sophie irately belted out. "PLEASE CAN YOU BE SILENT FOR JUST A MINUTE? JUST _ONE_ PRECIOUS MINUTE?!"

Christoph was a bit shocked. Sure, his sister wasn't always the nicest to him, but ever since the weekend, she had been more on the edge than usual. She usually insulted him but never shouted at him. He was a little concerned; after all, she might have been a priss, but she was his sister. This prompted him to ask if she was all right.

"Are you okay? You seem to be more irritating than usual. As if that's even possible, but you are."

"Way to show concern Christoph." She dryly responded.

"I'm just saying: you hardly touched the piano or your violin, and spend most of your weekend locked up in your room." He began, "I'm sure Muti missed hearing Chopin echo throughout the whole house; I know I did." He confessed.

"I'm just going through some 'teenage issues' nothing to worry about. You'll see what I mean when you're my age." Sophie absently said. She was going through some issues all right, but she wasn't sure if they would pass. Her mind was still trying to reel in everything from the party, that she almost didn't hear Christoph's compliment. When she finally realized what he said, it made her smile.

"You really like it when I play?" She brightly beamed.

"Of course! You may be my annoying, older sister, but even I have to praise your talent. You play very well, more than well actually, it is art! It is a beautiful art form!" Christoph happily admitted.

"Why can't you be like that all of the time?"

"What? Constantly praise you? No thanks; this is a onetime thing, since you seem to be more reserved and bitchier than usual. I thought it might cheer you up."

"No, you Dummkopt! I mean, why can't you be nice like that all the time and more open with me, it's rather…nice." She confessed. "And I appreciate you being concerned for me, but as I stated before it's just adolescent matters. Nothing to worry about." She replied.

'Now that is a lie, and you know it. Who are you trying to fool? Sure, you can try to make yourself believe it, but even your little brother can tell something is up. There's a name for your dilemma: you're ga–" The voice in her head started to say before she quickly tuned it out.

"Really, because you seem to be distracted at the moment? Are you sure said teenage issues are not about a certain party over the weekend?" Christoph inquired. "That Antonio guy or that Julchen girl really must have worked you up." He said.

"No, I told you it's– wait, what?!" She said as she finally took into account what her brother had asked. "How do _you_ know about that?!" She fumed.

"Well you told mamma and I, you were going to that party with Daniel remember? I must say, you took me by surprise; you don't look like the type of person to party, let alone be invited to one." Christoph wryly said.

"I know that, I was there when I told you guys. And I'll have you know, I constantly get invited to social events, I just chose not to attend." She furiously ranted. "But the pressing matter at hand here you little twerp, how do you _know _what happened at the party?!" She asked as she angrily grabbed him by the shirt collar. "Unless…you read my journal? She said as the realization hit her like a rock, a heavy one at that.

"YOU READ MY DIARY?!"

"So I did, so what? Who at your age still writes in one anyways?" He mockingly asked. "And in my defense, at first glance I thought it was a very sad handwritten book." He teasingly stated as he tried to get away from his sister's tight grip.

Sophie calmly let go of her brother, brushed his shoulders off, fixed his collar and fixed his tie. She deeply inhaled and exhaled. Christoph stared at her with a perplexed look.

"You better get a head start you little twerp." She slowly but menacingly said with eyes shut. Christoph realized then, he was in hot water.

"One."

"Sophie…please, come on, any one could have–"

"Two."

"I didn't even want to read it in the fi–"

"Thr–"

Christoph took off running at full speed before Sophie could finish.

"Yeah you better run, because when I catch you, you won't live to wear another one of your precious berets ever again!" Sophie bellowed out as she took off running after aforementioned brother.

"Come here, you little brat!"

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is from "I Want The One I Can't Have" by The Smiths.**

**Can you spot the _Bridesmaids _quote I put somewhere up there?**


	2. I Want the One I Can't Have pt2

**I want to apologize for how OOC the characters are, but since it is an AU setting, I guess it's all right? And for the errors I for sure know are here and there. I got lazy with spelling and grammar towards the end.**

* * *

Mein Gott, that took longer than I expected." Julchen said as she got out of Feliciano's red sports car.

"Well maybe if you would have kept your mouth shut in the first place, we would have been here earlier." Monika sternly began as she got out of the passenger seat. "If you would have not mentioned Feliciano's driving to Vati, we would not have had to suffer through that long lecture and Feliciano's weeping."

"He didn't even have to talk to talk to him to make him cry." Julchen pointed to Feliciano, remembering how her father made the Italian weep as he sat him for a talk. The boy hadn't even sat down on the couch before he began to beg for his life, babbling on about how he had relatives in their father's motherland.

"I'm just glad it's over. I mean Feliciano may not be the brightest or the bravest person out there, but he means well and is my best friend, so it was tough seeing him cry and poor Vati not knowing what to do to stop him." She said to her sister. She turned to the frightened Italian boy and tried to pry him out of the driver's seat.

"Come on, we're at school, dad isn't here anymore." She said

"No, no please don't let your papa hurt me!" He nervously bellowed.

"Feliciano, we are at school now, you drove us here, slowly, but in one piece. Dad isn't here and he would never hurt anyone, scare them yes, but never harm anyone. Now stop behaving like a baby and get out of the damn car!" She insisted.

"No, no, no! I don't want to."

Julchen getting tired of how the scene in front of her was playing out and spoke up. "I'm going to go look for Marianne and Antonio, good luck with him!" She told Monika as she left. "You're going to need it." She uttered.

Antonio, Marianne, and Julchen always met by the front steps of the school on the first day, so it would not be a problem to find them. The only good thing about going back to school was being able to endure it with her two best friends by her side. When she finally got to the front steps of the school, she spotted the statuesque brunette girl and the effervescent brunet boy.

"Oi! Over here! She happily called out to them. Marianne spotted her, ran over to her, and enveloped her in a tight, friendly hug.

"Mon amie! It's so good to see you again!" The brunette girl exclaimed.

"I just saw you on Friday. Marianne you Dummkopf!" She playfully said as she hugged her back.

"Yes, but it never hurts to say it again! Besides, I think I've been neglecting you guys too much since I got with Arthur." Marianne said as she let go of Julchen.

Truth be told, Julchen did feel a little neglected by the French girl ever since she started going out with the bushy-browed Brit. Marianne was her ultimate confidant. The French girl had been by her side since the middle of seventh grade. She was her rock when she and Monika's mother passed away. She didn't know who to turn her due to her family being in an equal, fragile state as she was and then enter Marianne. The French, transfer, girl from Marseilles was quick an eager to make friends with Julchen. She brought a new light into Julchen's sad situation. From there on, the two girls formed a tight bond.

Now she needed Marianne again, to tell her of her recent issues, but the girl was elated with her new romance with the British boy. She couldn't drag poor Marianne into her drama, especially after she finally had gotten with Arthur, which that itself was a completely different story.

"Don't I get a hug too mi amiga?" The Spanish boy asked.

"Bring it over here!" Julchen said with arms wide open.

"It's so good to be back with you guys at school again!" The boy happily embraced her.

Antonio came into the mix in the beginning of eight grade. Julchen and Marianne were looking for their homeroom when they found a lost and confused Spanish boy in the middle of the hallway. Marianne quickly went to his aid and just as quickly, flirted with the boy and Julchen gladly followed. It turned out not only did the boy shared the same homeroom as the both of them but also science, art, math and lunch. Needless to say, the three hit it right off the bat. And so, began a beautiful friendship full of ups, downs, highs, and lows for the trio. The trio became inseparable and even gained notoriety as the infamously, bad touch trio originally, the bad friend trio.

"Don't kill the mood with such sappiness Toni." Julchen jokingly said as they got out of their friendly embraced.

"I'm sorry mi amiga, but I'm real glad were back in school!" Antonio enthusiastically said. "I loved spending time with you guys and Arthur over the summer break, but I also miss seeing everyone's faces again." He replied gleefully.

"You mean everyone or just someone in particular?" Marianne said tongue-in-cheek.

Antonio smiled bashfully and responded, "Alright, while it is nice seeing everyone again, I will admit that I want to see Sophie more than everyone else, well besides you two of course." He quickly added.

At hearing her name, Julchen tensed up. What could Antonio possibly want to see Edelstein for? 'Could he possibly…' She couldn't even finish her thought. 'Why do you care so much if he likes her, he can date anyone he wants, including stuffy-Sophie; but, when did he even start to like her? I've like–' She stopped herself mid-though. 'Woah there… where did that come from?' She mused.

"Since when have you liked Edelstein?" Julchen accusingly asked. "You've been in almost the same classes as her since the eighth grade and not once have I ever heard you say you liked her. What gives?"

"Well if you had stayed with us at Alfred's party, you would have found out, ma chère." Marianne teasingly responded. "Where were you by the way? One minute there, then poof – gone!"

"Well to answer your question my dear Mari, I left because I had to take a piss really badly. You would have known that if you weren't fighting with eyebrows and then sucking face with him and if Toni here was not face-deep in the tomato dip." She started to recount. "So I left to the bathroom, only to find a huge ass line for it. I asked Alfred if he had another bathroom in his house to use, which to my benefit he did, but it was in his room. I wish he had told me his door lock was not working right, because after I had taken said piss I realized I was stuck in his room!" Julchen recalled but she deliberately left out a big gap out of the story.

"How did you get out because if my memory serves me right, you were sitting on the sofa talking with…uh…what's the guy's name that kind of looks like Alfred?"

"Matthew, duh!" Both girls responded in unison.

"Yeah him when we went to look for you so we could leave." Antonio said.

"That Russian dude and the Chinese chick wanted to get frisky in Alfred's room, so in summary: I was saved by horny teenagers." Julchen humorously replied.

Marianne and Antonio laughed over Julchen's hilarious misfortune, but Marianne felt Julchen had left something out. She knew her better than what she was given credit for.

"Well enough of my laughable awesome escapades, what did you tell Miss Croissants-and-baguettes here about the music snob?" She apprehensively asked.

Antonio happily started to recount said announcement, "I told Mari, that I asked Sophie out." Julchen wasn't sure why at that moment her body suddenly stung; she felt like the wind was taken from her, as if someone had repeatedly punched her in the gut, slapped her in the face, kicked her in the shins, and sadistically ripped her heart out. She felt like yelling at the top of her lungs and kicking the bicycles that resided near the front of the school. 'Where did this pent up angriness and aching come from?' She thought.

She should not be feeling this. To her chagrin, Antonio merrily continued, "I told Sophie that I started to take an interest in her since the middle of last year, but it fully blossomed into a crush when I heard her play the piano so beautifully towards the end of the year."

"You didn't tell me that part Toni. What were you even doing after school? If I remember correctly, soccer season ended way back in February mon ami. Were you stalking her?" Marianne inquisitively asked.

"No, I would never stalk someone, that's creepy. No I had to stay behind, because I was absent the day we had to clean our locker. I would have done it at lunch, but they were selling churros, and I could _not_ miss that. Anyways, I stayed after school to clean my locker out when I suddenly heard lovely music coming from the music room." Antonio airily sighted while Julchen inwardly cursed. "I headed towards the music room when I saw Sophie through the door's windowpane. I didn't want to intrude so I just stayed and listen through the door. She was playing with such grace and passion I've never seen before. I felt so many emotions go through me at once: happiness, hopefulness, calmness, but most of all admiration. The way her small, slender hands effortlessly glided through the black and ivory keys. It was such a magical sight to see such beauty, play such equally beautiful music." Antonio dreamily recalled.

Julchen took into account the scene Antonio had described. She now could see why Antonio was infatuated with the girl and she couldn't blame him. The way he painted such a striking description of the girl only made Julchen want to consider her own feelings towards the Austrian.

"Wow Antonio, that was really breathtaking! Why didn't you tell me the story like that on Friday?" Marianne delightfully exclaimed. "You could write this down and sell it as a book! Don't you think so Julchen?"

Julchen was taken out of her musing by the jovial French girl. "What do I know? I'm not into sappy love stories. Besides the girl is a total snob, if you ask me." Julchen said as she indifferently crossed her arms. She desperately hoped for a change of topic, unfortunately Marianne further fueled Antonio's irksome chatter.

"So Toni, you never told me what she said, did she say yes?!" Marianne excitedly asked.

"She said she wanted to think about it over the weekend and that she'd tell me when she saw me at school, hopefully she says yes." The boy optimistically said. Julchen wanted nothing more than to pull a Van Gogh on her own two ears now. "Speaking of Sophie, have you guys seen her? I asked Daniel if he'd seen her this morning, but he didn't." He said with concern.

"Maybe, Miss High-and-Mighty is avoiding you, have you thought about that?" Julchen jeered as it gave her a little sense of pleasure.

"Don't listen to her Toni." Marianne started to calm a crestfallen Antonio. "Arthur and I saw her chasing what I assume was her little brother down by the middle school four blocks away from here when we went to drop off Arthur's brother, Peter. It was rather amusing. You'd think as her as the epitome of composure, but at the moment, she was anything but. It was priceless seeing two people in prestigious school uniforms running around in circles. Hair, beret, and bags flopping around everywhere; it was hilarious." Marianne joyfully recounted which made Antonio happily grin. At that, Julchen couldn't help the small smile that graced her pale face. 'So the priss is human and not a machine after all.'

"You guys, we should probably go to the auditorium if we want to get good seats." Marianne reminded her friends.

"Oh, that's right; we now get to go to the amazing, mandatory, upperclassmen assembly before we go to homeroom. Whoo-fucking-hoo!" Julchen ironically said. "Gott, why don't you punch me in the face? That would be more awesome in comparison." She grumbled.

"Come on Miss Melodramatic, it won't be that bad." Marianne said as she slung her arm around Julchen's right shoulder and Antonio mirrored with his on Julchen's left shoulder. Julchen responded by placing hers on their waist.

"Ok, let's rock this bitch!" Julchen spirited bellowed as the trio made their way to the auditorium, but not before Julchen added, "…Right after I hit the can."

"You promise you won't get locked in there." Antonio lightheartedly teased.

"Nope. Not making any promises."

* * *

Sophie arrived to school with seven minutes to spare, but it was all worth it because in the end she taught Christoph a valuable lesson: never touch her things ever again, especially her diary. Now she had to meet with Daniel in the auditorium as they agreed over text, but it was easier said than done because to find him in the crowd of feverish students would be difficult. She made her way towards the school's auditorium and once she got there, she immediately started to scout for her best friend.

Daniel was also frantically looking for her from his seat in the middle back of the auditorium when he saw his beloved friend searching for his friendly face. "Over here Sophie!" He gleefully shouted and frantically waved his arms back and forth to the petite girl.

"Hey you big oaf, sit down, I can't see! You're blocking my view." A boy in the back of Daniel shouted.

"Oh shut the hell up Vladimir! The assembly hasn't even started you asshat." He shouted back at the boy.

Sophie - and the whole room - spotted him after said outburst and gladly complied.

"Excuse me. Sorry. Ouch. Hey, watch it you perv!" Sophie said as she made her way over Daniel. "Gott, do you people have to be so touchy?" She said as she finally sat down next to Daniel.

"Hey Sophie, where were you? What took you so long?" Daniel said as he turned to the girl and engulfed her in a giant, bear hug.

"You're...squeezing…me." Sophie said gasping for much needed air.

"Oh, sorry!" He said as he quickly let her go and began too blush.

"That's quite alright." She kindly smiled at him and gave him a quick, chaste peck on his cheek. "You seem to underestimate your own strength." She playfully teased.

"Sorry Sophie is just that I was worried about you." He said.

"That's kind of you, but really there was nothing to worry about. I arrived a little later than expected due to my little brother. He had the nerve to touch my stuff, so I taught him a little lesson on the way to school, which resulted in a wild-goose chase. I'll be first to admit, it was not one of my finest moments but it was definitely worth it." She finished with a triumphant smile.

"I bet that was quite a sight to see." Daniel chuckled; as he did, he remembered his encounter with Antonio earlier in the morning. "Oh before I forget, Antonio was looking for you." He told Sophie.

Sophie's smiled quickly faltered. She now remembered here current dilemma; she wasn't ready to face the friendly boy or his loud, silvered-haired friend yet.

"Why does he need to see you?" Daniel curiously inquired.

"At Alfred's party, he…sort of…asked me to be his…g-girlfriend." Sophie confessed as she struggled to get the last word out. Daniel was surprised. He had gone to the party with Sophie, but why did he not see this when it happened?

"What? When? How? Tell me!" Daniel urged the girl.

"When you left to talk to Sakura..." She began to narrate.

'Oh that's right, she was talking to me about this thing call yaoi and yuri, which by the way, the yuri sounded _very _interesting…I'm going to have to look into that…oh crap, I better pay attention before she realizes I'm no longer listening to her.' Daniel quietly mused.

"He approached me and asked me out. I told him I'd think about it over the weekend and get back to him with my answer when I saw him on Monday. I don't know what to tell him. He's a nice guy, but I don't know if I want to pursue a romantic relationship with him, or anyone at that." Sophie admitted.

Daniel now attentively listened to his best friend's consternation. For as long as he'd known Sophie, she had never dated any guy. She of course had her fair share of suitors, but each and every one of them had been let down easily including him in the beginning, but that was a thing of the past. They now had a platonic relationship where they heavily depended on each other for support and friendship. So being her best friend, he decided he needed to tell her to give Antonio a chance. The Spanish boy was one of the nicest people he knew. He was also very friendly and appealing, so if Sophie should even remotely consider dating anyone, Antonio was the right candidate. He'd be the Spanish boy's, secret wingman.

"I'm not a girl, but even I have to admit Antonio is a pretty, attractive guy, Soph. Not only that, but he is really nice and kind. Hell, if I was a girl I'd be pretty much throwing myself at him." Daniel simply stated. The boy in the back of Daniel began to lean towards them. "Whatever you have to say don't, Vlad the Impaler." Daniel said as he turned to look at the boy.

"Relax, you dimwit, I'm not here to question your preferences. Actually, I'm here because I couldn't help to overhear your friend's dilemma." Vladimir simply stated as he rested his head on his hands.

"Whatever you have to say, we don't need your opinion Count Dracula."

Choosing to ignore the fussy, Hungarian boy, he turned to Sophie. "I'd have to agree with this moron, that Antonio guy is pretty good-looking and very kind. He's one of the few people who doesn't call me a vampire due to my appearance. I don't mean to pry, but you should definitely consider his offer."

"See like I said, your advice is pretty unnece– huh? You're actually agreeing with me Nosferatu?" Daniel said surprised. "But even so, that's pretty gay bat boy."

"Well if you didn't know, I am. Ignoramus."

"What, since when?!"

"Since none of your damn business."

"Oh…that's why you and the Bulgarian, transfer, boy were kissing on the last day of school."

"No shit, Sherlock. What else did you think we we're doing?"

"I don't know, a weird Romanian/Bulgarian, vampire, goodbye greeting." Daniel told Vladimir as he saw the Bulgarian boy walk towards Vladimir. "Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Your little boyfriend's here."

"Well I would say it was nice talking to you Héderváry, but then I'd be lying. Good luck Edelstein." Vladimir said as he turned to give his boyfriend his full attention.

As Sophie witness their heated interaction, she couldn't help but to flinch at Daniel and Vladimir's use of the word gay. 'Is there something wrong with me? Why can't I look at guys like most girls my age do?' She began to think. 'I mean I'm almost 17, I'm supposed to be at an age were boys constantly run through my thoughts and…I've never had a boyfriend…maybe I'm just not attracted to anyone? But then, how come the only time I've actually felt something was when I kis–'

"Sophie?" Daniel interrupted her profound train of thought.

"Huh, what?" She said coming out of her reverie.

"Antonio's coming this way!" He said nodding his head towards the tanned boy who had excused himself from his friends and was now walking towards her.

"Oh ficken!" Sophie nervously said as her hands got warm and sweaty. Her heartbeat felt like she had run a 10-mile marathon. 'Gott, what do I do?'

"Hey Daniel. Hi Sophie." Antonio courteously greeted Daniel but greeted Sophie more warmly.

"Hi Antonio." Both the Austrian and the Hungarian greeted back.

"Mind if I sit next to you guys?" He warily asked.

"No go for it!" Daniel smiled.

"Thanks!" He said as he took the empty seat next to Sophie. "So Sophie, about Friday… have you made your decision?" Antonio nervously asked as he turned to look at Sophie, emerald meeting amethyst.

"Well, I…" Sophie, equally as nervous, began to drawl out. 'What do I tell him? Do I say yes, but what about Jul– no stop thinking about her!" Sophie furiously contemplated.

"Yes?"

"I–"

"Students, welcome back to what is sure to be a great school year!" The enthusiastic, booming voice, belonging to non-other than Mr. Vargas, resonated through the auditorium interrupting Sophie mid-response. She silently thanked Mr. Vargas for his convenient timing.

"I'll tell you after this dull matter is finished. Mr. Vargas has terrible timing." She offered him a sympathetic smiled.

"Yeah he sure does." Antonio inwardly cursed Mr. Vargas' inconvenient timing.

* * *

Well, that didn't last as long as Sophie thought. She hoped for an epic, never-ending, speech from Mr. Vargas, but when she actually needed his long-dragged speeches he decided that he had rambled far too long. 'No Mr. Vagas, no! You have failed me in my time of need. I counted on you! I bet this is how Caesar felt when Brutus stabbed him in the back." Sophie resentfully thought.

"Eh, I'll leave you two alone to talk in private. I'll see you in homeroom Soph." Daniel politely offered and began to retreat.

"Thanks!" Antonio appreciatively said.

'…For deserting me Daniel!' Sophie silently added.

"Alright, now that there is absolutely no more interruptions, what do you say Sophie?" Antonio said on the edge of his seat.

"Antonio I…" Sophie started to say. As she looked around the room, she spotted the long, silvered-haired girl as she began to emerge from her seat to leave along with several other students. At that moment, Julchen turned to meet her lingering stare. "…Would be more than glad to be your girlfriend."

* * *

'Why did Mr. Vargas have to torture the new juniors and seniors? Couldn't he do this over announcements like every other sane principal? Now I have to endure this snooze-fest.' Julchen thought.

"Ooh let's sit over there!" Marianne said as she spotted her bushy-browed boyfriend signaling her. The trio made their way to the three, reserved, empty seats next to Arthur.

" 'Ello, again mates." Arthur said as he greeted his girlfriend and her two friends as they sat down.

"Hola Arthur!" Antonio happily responded while Julchen nonchalantly nodded in acknowledgement. Marianne responded with lacing her fingers in Arthur's hand. Arthur gladly complied.

As they got settled down they saw a petite girl with long, russet hair enter and look around the room.

"Oh shut the hell up Vladimir! The assembly hasn't even started you asshat." They also heard Daniel's loud outburst.

"Hey look who's here Toni." Marianne nudged Antonio who sat next to her.

Antonio's green eyes lit up at the sight of Sophie. Julchen on the other hand tensed up in her seat. Here now was the girl who made her question her precious sanity.

Both Antonio and Julchen saw as she made her way to Daniel and both felt anger course up their veins as the girl kissed the Hungarian boy's cheek. Both of them knew Sophie and Daniel were best friends, but they still felt a pang of jealousy towards him.

'Why do I even feel like this? I don't even like her as a person!' Julchen thought, but the little voice inside her head, begged to differ.

'Oh really, then how come you feel like this? Why do you constantly think about her, and not just because of what recently happened, but waaaay before that?' The voiced challenged.

"Oh shut it!" Julchen uttered not realizing she had said it aloud. She was met with three, confused sets of stares.

"What?" She innocently said, praying the naïve card would get them to forget her outburst. She was grateful when Marianne took the spotlight of off her.

"Why don't you go over to her?"

"She looks like she's busy right now." Julchen bitterly had to add.

"Nonsense, go on! It's better to get your answer now, the sooner the better!" Marianne encouraged Antonio.

"You know what, you're right. I'll meet up with you guys in homeroom." Antonio said as he left towards the third row of seats below them. Julchen took the opportunity to seat in Antonio's now empty seat.

"What's wrong chérie?" Marianne asked with concerned laced in her voice. "Since Antonio told you he liked Sophie this morning, you've been a bit withdrawn which is highly unusual for you."

"Wait Antonio likes Sophie? When did this happen?" Arthur asked now fully aware of their conversation.

"I'll tell you later mon lapin." Marianne sweetly said as Arthur made a disgruntled expression over the pet name.

"I've told you not to call me pet names!" He sourly crossed his arms, but held back a small smile. He secretly liked hearing them.

"Oh you love them!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

"Hey love birds, shut it!" Julchen interjected.

"Right, sorry!" Marianne said as she remembered the issue at hand. "Oh mon Dieu, do _you_ like Antonio?! That's why you're moody!" The brunette girl exclaimed.

"What? No, it's not that! Eww. Toni's a friend, like a goofy, Spanish brother I've never had. I do **_not _**think of him like that!" Julchen desperately clarified.

"Then what's wrong?"

'I might as well tell Mari what's been bothering me, but not here. If I tell her here I might as well be shouting it to the whole world.' Julchen uneasily began, "Mari, I need to talk to you."

"Sure, but what do you need to talk about?

"I need to tell you abo–"

"Students, welcome back to what is sure to be a great school year!" Mr. Vargas interrupted with his loud, energetic voice.

'Dammit Vargas, not now! What you have at being handsome, you lack in timing!' The French girl mentally scolded the principal.

* * *

Julchen was genuinely surprised; Mr. Vargas didn't take his precious time. Usually at assemblies, the man would take long enough to recite a whole Shakespeare play, one time he actually did. His performance of _The Merchant of Venice_ was one her sore butt and legs did not demand an encore to or anyone else as a matter of fact.

"Okay in order to give my best advice, I need to know what I'm dealing with, so spill." The brunette girl demanded.

"What, here now? No I need this to be in private."

"Julchen, come on, it is better that you tell me now."

"No, I've changed my mind now."

"Julchen, just tell me already."

"No."

"Hey girls, hate to interrupt your little chat, but it be best if we left now for homeroom before we get trampled by these wankers." Arthur wisely advised.

"Shit, he's right!" Julchen said getting up from her seat.

"Oh, what about Toni?" Marianne reminded the two of them.

"He said he'd meet with us in homeroom, besides look, he's still talking to Sophie." Arthur pointed over to where Antonio currently was. Both girls turned to look. At that moment, her ruby red eyes locked with Sophie's violet ones.

"…I would be more than glad to be your girlfriend." She heard Sophie say.

In that instant, she felt like her heart had dropped down to her stomach. She also in that instant understood the reason the girl constantly plagued her thoughts. Why she made her feel emotions she had never felt before. She liked Sophie. She was attracted to another girl, and not just any girl, but Antonio's now girlfriend.

"Marianne, I think I need to have that talk now."

* * *

**I realized it was rather long, but I promise the other chapters won't be that long…I hope. I needed to set up the story so that's why I kind of dragged it out. The story may start out a bit slow, but I can definitely promise that it will pick up the pace. I don't want to rush it no matter how badly I want my OTP to gay it up already! **

******One last final thing: ****Can you picture Prussia boy/girl riding a pink tricycle with rainbow and unicorns, down the street? XD I can, and it's awesome!**


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